WATCH: Bodybuilders flex their muscles
Qualifying for the national round is yet another milestone for Marcel, who has staked his claim in competitions since the NABBA/WFF KwaZulu-Natal Preliminaries last year.
Local bodybuilders are sculpting success one rep at a time.
Homegrown and Herculean, Marcel van Niekerk and Ricky Chan will represent their town and province at the National Amateur Body-builders’ Association and World Fitness Federation (NABBA/WFF) Nationals this weekend.
For them, tough training is the pathway to physical success.
Qualifying for the national round is yet another milestone for Marcel, who has staked his claim in competitions since the NABBA/WFF KwaZulu-Natal Preliminaries last year.
He has won his division for the second year running.
“I train daily whether there’s a competition or not. Ahead of competitions, 12 weeks out the training becomes more intense and I’m training twice a day for cardio, weights and poses.”
Following a strict diet and training regimen, Marcel admitted it was difficult to see family and friends eating well while he dined on chicken, cucumber and water.
Yet this is all part of the critical preparation process.
Marcel explained the goal was actually to dehydrate before a competition, reducing water intake in exchange for better definition.
Although a tough task, he revelled in it.
“It’s never hard to train because I love it.”
On the opposite end of the scale is Ricky Chan, who showed off his physique on stage for the first time at a competition in the Western Cape.
His second competition was the NABBA KZN Preliminaries.
In his division, Ricky secured first place in the province and thus qualified for the National round on Friday and Saturday in Pretoria.
“I never thought I’d compete. I began about two-and-a-half years ago and started serious competition training about a year-and-a-half ago.”
While their backgrounds and circumstances might differ, both Ricky and Marcel share a friend who guided them onto the path of mighty muscle.
For Marcel, it was Nico-Jan Chowles.
Through Nico-Jan’s introduction to the gymming sphere, Marcel made new friends and was kept out of a life of partying and excess.
“I began at 18 and on my 19th birthday, I got serious. Nico-Jan said I should step it up and I pushed to reach his physical level.”
After three years in bodybuilding and fitness, 22-year-old Marcel takes scarcely any days off and has completely changed his lifestyle and habits.
He believes this is the key to his success.
“To compete, you need big stones. It must be the most important thing in your life; it’s all or nothing and top priority.”
Ricky’s inspiration is another local Hercules, Neil van Rooyen.
It was Neil who helped Ricky take the first step towards a stronger body, and who kept him motivated when training became almost too much to handle.
He also introduced Ricky to the East Coast Transformations team.
“I’ve received a lot of support, motivation and advice. The athletes group together and even though we are with different organisations, we keep each other on our toes.”
To aspirant bodybuilders or even those keen to get into shape, Marcel said it was important to remember ‘we all start somewhere’.
He added one had to be happy with what they saw in the mirror.
“It’s only you versus you, and how you improve. You’ll get sick of eating chicken but just remember to eat right and train hard.”
Stating enjoyment was another critical factor for those keen on competitive bodybuilding, Marcel explained discipline and positivity counted.
Thus he believed it important to be surrounded by positive people.
“For the bigger guys, don’t judge those who are starting out because we all began looking that way. Rather help them.”
Ricky explained the commitment level between competitive bodybuilding and just improving physical appearance was vast.
He described competition training as 100 per cent clean living.
Those who wished to shed kilogrammes and be beach-ready could be more lenient, yet success was always measured by what one put in.
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